Bill Bishop's Critical Point on Chinese Influence Threat to Canadian Democracy

Bill Bishop
@niubi
It is a mistake to talk about “Chinese influence”. That is a dangerous conflation that can spark anti-Chinese sentiment. The issue is “Chinese Communist Party influence operations”. Warning against those is not anti-Chinese. Don’t be lazy, and don’t let CCP media conflate the two
7:02 pm · 16 Dec 2017 from Wyoming, USA

Burton: Canada-China relations are now ripe for a rethink

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/burton-canada-china-relations-are-now-ripe-for-a-rethink

Besides skewering Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s China strategy, Beijing’s gruff refusal last week to factor labour, gender or environmental rights into free trade talks likely marks Canada’s last gasp in a futile, decades-long effort to engage China in global institutions on Western terms.

Angry PRC Response to Trudeau Visit (in Chinese)

https://m.ifeng.com/shareNews?forward=1&aid=cmpp_030180054024397&from=singlemessage#backhead#backhead#backhead

Trudeau needs to step cautiously in Beijing: Charles Burton for Inside Policy

Trudeau needs to step cautiously in Beijing: Charles Burton for Inside Policy: Trudeau should be wary of pursuing to Canada-China free trade agreement during his visit to China, writes Charles Burton.

My Opinion Piece in Saturday Globe and Mail: "Does Trudeau really believe trade with China is ‘free’?"

Does Trudeau really believe trade with China is ‘free’?

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/does-trudeau-really-believe-trade-with-china-is-free/article37166201/

Mr. Trudeau would represent Canada best if he gave China a frank review of the reasons why we cannot commit to free trade with a non-transparent, state-directed, duplicitous and corrupt economic regime. He should also brief his Chinese hosts on Canada's "Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Magnitsky Law)" that came into effect in October. Recently, 19 Venezuelan officials joined the list of Russians and South Sudanese on the Canadian Magnitsky sanctions list because, as the government explains, they are "responsible for, or complicit in, gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, have committed acts of significant corruption or both." Presumably the same criteria applied to Russia and Venezuela will shortly be applied to larger numbers of Chinese officials. Or does China free trade trounce that, too?

Marx Engels Lenin Stalin Mao Xi

Check out @niubi’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/niubi/status/924785349699735552?s=09

My commentary in Toronto Star on the 19th Congress's implications for Canada

As Xi sets his sights on the world, the ruse is dispensed with

"China’s president has emerged from the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th Congress with absolute power, pushing his country to become the world’s unassailable economic and cultural leader. Human rights and multilateral co-operation have no part in his plans for world dominance.

With Canada eyeing free trade with Chinese, our Parliament just adopted Bill C-267 — the “Magnitsky Act” — which bars entry by, and forbids Canadians from financially engaging with, foreign nationals who are complicit in torture or extrajudicial killings of anyone who defends or promotes human rights and freedoms, such as the right to a fair trial or democratic elections. As Canada proceeds to identify Russians and Venezuelans for the Magnitsky list, there are already many Chinese Communist officials who instantly meet the criteria.
It will be interesting to see if their names are added to the list before or after trade negotiations."

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/10/26/as-xi-sets-his-sights-on-the-world-the-ruse-is-dispensed-with.html

China has decided to cease senior level engagement on human rights via dialogue with Australia

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/beijing-pulls-out-of-human-rights-dialogue-with-canberra/news-story/e944dc3a59ad6e8518068c94961f71c3


The Chinese government has walked away from its long-­standing human rights dialogue with Canberra, as President Xi Jinping delivered a striking 3½-hour address to the 19th Communist Party Congress yesterday in which he vowed to make China the world’s most powerful nation.

The people of China would ­become rich under Communist Party rule, Mr Xi said, while by 2050 the nation would be the leading international power.

Guardian: Xi Jinping heralds 'new era' of Chinese power at Communist party congress

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/18/xi-jinping-speech-new-era-chinese-power-party-congress

More explicit indication of China's plan for global domination

Huanqiu Editorial: China May Have a Face-off against the U.S. to Prevent Its Naval Ships from Docking in Taiwan

Huanqiu Editorial: China May Have a Face-off against the U.S. to Prevent Its Naval Ships from Docking in Taiwan

{Editor’s note: Huanqiu (Global Times) published an editorial strongly opposing U.S. battleships docking in Taiwan. It stated that China should tell the U.S. that, “China does not want the U.S. military forces to dock in or be stationed in Taiwan under any circumstance.”It would be considered a move towards “Taiwan Independence.” China is willing to attack Taiwan’s naval bases and even sink the U.S.’ ships to protect its sovereignty. The following is the translation of the article.} {1}

On August 14, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018. It contained an item to allow the warships of the U.S and Taiwan to dock at each other’s ports. The bill will go to the Senate for consideration. After the House and Senate reconcile any differences, the President will sign the bill into law. If China does not apply a sufficiently strong pressure (to stop it), it is highly probable that the bill will become law.

The U.S. withdrew its military forces from Taiwan in 1979 when China and the U.S. established diplomatic relations. If the new defense authorization bill becomes law, it would mean that the U.S. military forces can “lawfully” return to Taiwan. Although one or two warships docking at a port in Taiwan may be only “symbolic” under the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, the emergence of U.S. warships will serve as a jump-start to “Taiwan independence.” It is hard to say that this will be the “last piece” of the U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation. Who knows what other, more dangerous actions the hawks in Washington may take in the future?

Of course there is also another possibility. Even if the U.S. Congress passes the bill, the U.S. government may not send warships to dock in Taiwan. Instead, they may just use the bill as a chip to threaten China, which will inevitably increase the cost for China to maintain its relations with the U.S. It will also put China in a passive and unfavorable position in the Sino-U.S. strategic game.

Think about it. If U.S. destroyers go to Taiwan, can we not do anything? How about U.S. aircraft carriers going to Taiwan? What if they dock there, not for a few days, but for a few weeks, a few months, or if they do not leave Taiwan? Also, what if it is not a normal stop and dock, but U.S. warships come to Taiwan whenever the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait becomes intense? What if the U.S. even sets up a military base for the U.S. Marine Corps at the port of Kaohsiung?

We probably need to look several steps ahead before taking one step on the issue of the U.S. warships docking at Taiwan’s ports. If the U.S. can take a few steps afterwards that China absolutely will not accept, then, at that time, China may have to engage in a showdown to stop it. Then China may as well just act now to draw a red line for the U.S. and Taiwan.

One may say that the root cause of the Taiwan issue (a possible split from China) is the U.S. It makes sense, but we should not take it to the extreme. Would Washington have passed such a defense authorization bill during the Ma Ying-jeou period? Even if it had passed, would it have been useful? Would the Kuomintang government have welcomed the docking of U.S. warships? {Editor’s note: Ma Ying-jeou was Taiwan’s President from 2008 to 2016. The author is implying that Ma Ying-jeou and his party, the Kuomintang, were pro the One-China policy, so this kind of issue would not have occurred and also that the current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and her party, the Democratic Progress Party (DPP) are pro One-China and one-Taiwan. Therefore this issue would come up.}

From the telephone call between Trump and Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S. Congress’ promoting that U.S. warships dock in Taiwan, Tsai’s administration has played a key role. Tsai appears to be gentle and soft, but she is flamboyant from her bones. Through several diplomatic actions, Mainland China has dampened her arrogance. However, Tsai and her colleagues apparently have not learned their lessons yet and even attempt to counter back. The idea of the U.S. warships docking in Taiwan bears the shadow of this “counterattack.”

It must be pointed out that the U.S. warships returning to Taiwan will be the most dangerous and severe backing-up of the “Taiwan independence” movement in decades. It will be an action that will truly change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. If Tsai Ing-wen and the U.S. echo each other and take this step, then she will be further down the “Taiwan independence” path than Chen Shui-bian (President of Taiwan from 2000 to 2008, who was also from the DPP. China criticized him severely for attempting to take Taiwan toward independence).

It is far from enough just (for China) to exert diplomatic pressure on the Tsai Ing-wen authorities. It seems to be imperative (for China) to increase its military pressure on Taiwan. Moreover, for U.S. warships to dock in Taiwan, in and of itself, is a military action. If Mainland China does not respond using military means, the current political and military status quo in the Taiwan Strait is bound to be rewritten.

We advocate that Mainland China should view the U.S. warships’ docking in Taiwan as a violation of China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Beijing should consider taking a series of measures to respond and make them public. Those measures should include a military strike against Taiwan’s naval ports where U.S. warships would dock. If Taiwan counterattacks, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will carry out a second strike against Taiwan. If the U.S. warships participate in Taiwan’s counterattack, China will fire back to sink the U.S. warships.

We are not going to push for a declaration of war against Taiwan and the U.S., but to advocate a clearly drawn (China’s) bottom line on the Taiwan Strait issue: under no circumstance can the U.S. military forces stop at Taiwan. Whether the two sides of the Taiwan Strait want peace or war is up to the choice that the Taiwan authorities make. The rules of the game in the Taiwan Strait cannot be like this: no matter how aggressive the Taiwan authorities are, Taiwan is safe. The Taiwan Strait issue must have a true red line. Once Taiwan authorities touch the red line, it will be finished.

China is committed to a peaceful rise but must have the courage to fight. Only in this way can our economic and military power be transformed into a powerful deterrent to the “Taiwan independence” forces and to the external (hostile) forces, and only in this way can the red line we draw be taken seriously.

Tsai Ing-wen authorities do not dare to fight with Mainland China. In the event that the PLA attacks military facilities on Taiwan Island, Taiwan will be in chaos. Their party, the DPP will be ousted. So once Mainland China announces that U.S. warships’ docking in Taiwan will lead to military strikes, Tsai authorities will back off.

In 2005, Mainland China passed the Anti-Secession Law, but the Taiwan authorities paid much less attention to this law than they did to the Taiwan Relations Act that the U.S. passed. It is time to wake Taiwan up to check out its words and deeds against the Anti-Secession Law.

Endnote:
{1} Huanqiu, “Huanqiu Commentary: China Can Have a Face-off against the U.S. to Prevent Its Naval Ships from Docking in Taiwan,” July 16, 2017.
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2017-07/10988224.html.

Burton Opinion Piece in the Globe and Mail: "When will China drop Pyongyang and act like a leader?"

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/when-will-china-drop-pyongyang-and-act-like-a-leader/article36256901/

"North Korea and China actually share the same endgame: Get the U.S. to abandon its defence of South Korea. Beijing would love nothing more than to see the withdrawal of American troops from regional bases in Korea and Japan. While Pyongyang wants to achieve that through threats of nuclear apocalypse, everyone else – including China – knows that the only realistic path forward to a new, more desirable era is through political change in Pyongyang.

For nearly 30 years, attempts to engage with North Korea have failed miserably; talks are simply a delaying tactic for Pyongyang. The UN of course has a responsibility to protect Korean people trapped in this nightmare regime, but needs full collaboration from China and Russia to make this happen."

My Interview on Radio Canada International on the N Korea situation

Former Canadian diplomat speaks about the N Korea situation

Burton: Chrystia Freeland's disquieting silence around trade talks with China

As Canadians digest a stream of statements and punditry around the upcoming NAFTA negotiations, another discourse — possibly more consequential for our future — is being planned in comparative silence.

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/burton-chrystia-freelands-disquieting-silence-around-trade-talks-with-china

My Opinion piece in Toronto Star: Canada must join allies to solve North Korean crisis

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/09/03/canada-must-join-allies-to-solve-north-korean-crisis.html

It is time for our government to state clearly that Canada condemns China’s continued sly backing of its atrocious North Korean ally.

China is obstructing the deeply held aspirations of Korean people to reunite their broken country, and rebuild a peaceful, prosperous and democratic nation on the Korean peninsula.

Sixty-seven years ago Canada made a military commitment to defend South Korea against North Korean and Chinese military aggression, at a loss of more than 500 Canadian lives. Whether Canada really is back in international diplomacy now, and is prepared to again stand firm against a much greater threat from North Korea backed by China today, remains to be seen.

The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China open letter to Chrystia Freeland re: Liu Xia

加拿大關注中國人權聯盟 (The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China)* 發公開信要求加拿大外交部長 Chrystia Freeland，透過更緊密與加拿大盟友合作，帶領全球還劉霞自由運動，並且主動邀請劉霞來加拿大居住。
The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China* has sent an open letter to Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to urge her to work closely with allies to lead a concerted global campaign to win Liu Xia freedom. Moreover, to demand Canadian government to demonstrate strong global human rights leadership by continuing to press for Liu Xia's unconditional freedom and by offering her safe haven through an invitation to come and live in Canada.
*The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China is made up of 15 Canadian organizations dedicated to ensuring there is strong attention to human rights in Canada's relationship in China. The 15 organizations include:
Amnesty International Canada (English & Francophone Branches), ARC International, Canada-Hong Kong Link, Canada Tibet Committee, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Canadian Labour Congress, Falun Dafa Association of Canada, Federation for a Democratic China, Movement for Democracy in China (Calgary), PEN Canada, Students for a Free Tibet Canada, Toronto Association for Democracy in China, the Uyghur Canadian Society and the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement in China.
Full Text of the Open Letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland:
August 2, 2017
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Dear Minister,
We write this Open Letter to you as members of the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China,1 urging that the Canadian government and you personally continue make determined efforts to seek the unconditional release of LIU Xia, the widow of LIU Xiaobo, who is currently under house arrest in China.
We have very much welcomed your clear support of LIU Xia following her husband’s tragic death; and urge you to go further and work closely with allies to lead a concerted global campaign to win her freedom. Doing so would send a powerful message to China that Canada and others in the international community do not and will not tolerate the ongoing persecution and repression she has endured.
As you know, LIU Xia has been kept in house arrest and isolation since October 2010. As a result, she has suffered from psychological stress, anxiety and depression. The latest we have heard is that she has been forcibly sent away from her home. Her crime? She refused to stay silent and desist from trying to secure the release of her wrongfully-imprisoned husband, while he was still alive.
On July 13, 2017, after LIU Xiaobo’s death in custody, the first Nobel Peace Laureate to die in state custody since Nazi Germany, you tweeted:
Terribly sad that this champion of human rights has died. We mourn his loss but his message of hope and freedom will endure. #LIUXiaobo
And again on July 16, 2017, you tweeted to the world and spoke out for his widow LIU Xia on behalf of all Canadians:
“Canada continues to call on the Chinese govt to release #LIUXia and offer her safe passage out of China, according to her wishes. #LIUXiaobo
Artist, poet and human rights defender LIU Xia was placed under house arrest by the Chinese authorities after it was announced that her late husband LIU Xiaobo was to receive the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. She has faced heavy surveillance and harassment; treatment that continues today even after her husband’s death.
At this time it is crucial that Chinese authorities hear a clear message from the international community insisting that LIU Xia’s punishment end and that she be allowed safe passage out of China according to her wishes; as you have urged.
As such, we look to Canada, working alongside other concerned nations, to demonstrate strong global human rights leadership by continuing to press for Liu Xia’s unconditional freedom and by offering her safe haven through an invitation to come and live in Canada. We have no doubt that many in the Chinese-Canadian and human rights communities would enthusiastically provide sponsorship and whatever support is required in bringing her here.
LIU Xiaobo leaves behind a powerful legacy that will inspire the world to continue the struggle for human rights. A particularly meaningful and personal tribute to him will be to ensure that LIU Xia, his widow, is free to do the same.
Minister, we hope that you will continue to raise this urgent human rights case with Chinese counterparts at every opportunity, that you will encourage Prime Minister Trudeau to do similarly and that you will actively forge a partnership with other governments so that Chinese authorities clearly understand that this demand comes from many within the international community.
With leadership and determined diplomacy we are confident that we can indeed succeed to “Free Liu Xia.”
Sincerely,
Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada (English branch)
On behalf of the Canadian Coalition for Human Rights in China

Engaging China Poses Potential Risk to Canada's National Security: Charles Burton for Inside Policy (Macdonald-Laurier Institute)

http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/engaging-china-poses-potential-risk-to-canadas-national-security-charles-burton-for-inside-policy/

"Closer ties with China carries worrisome implications for Canada’s national security, writes Charles Burton. The asymmetrical nature of the relationship suggests that China may leverage economic incentives to further its geopolitical regime goals.

This piece is part of The China Debates series for Inside Policy, with commissioned articles from leading world experts exploring different elements of China’s rise as a great power."

My Opinion Piece in the Globe and Mail: "Hong Kong, and the litany of Beijing’s betrayal"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/hong-kong-and-the-litany-of-beijings-betrayal/article35513064/

"China nixed any notions about universal suffrage in Hong Kong, instead introducing pro-Party curriculum in schools, intimidating independent media and illegally relocating several Hong Kong residents deemed hostile to the Beijing regime to the mainland. This betrayal has been met with public outrage and massive protests in the streets, including one in 2014 that occupied some districts of downtown Hong Kong for three months.

More and more young Hong Kongers are now demanding genuine autonomy, if not outright independence, from China, renouncing their Mandarin-based Chinese-ness in favour of a localized Cantonese Hong Kong identity. When some of this new generation were recently democratically elected to the local legislature, China’s No. 3 state leader Zhang Dejiang warned that Hong Kong must be governed by “patriots who sincerely support China’s sovereignty.”

Politically, things are volatile and dangerously uncertain in Hong Kong, and it matters a lot to Canada. There are 300,000 Canadian citizens in Hong Kong, and half a million Canadians of Hong Kong origin reside in Canada. That’s a strong Canadian connection for a place with just seven million residents."

"Power and Influence: The hard edge of China's soft power" Australian TV documentary

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2017/06/05/4678871.htm

PROF. JOHN FITZGERALD: Well every government of course has an interest in promoting itself abroad to extending its soft power.
I guess what's different about China is the way in which its run through these clandestine operations.
It's just not out there and open.
Secondly, it's really not out to win an argument, it's out to silence dissent and other countries generally don't operate that way.
They expect to win an argument on its strengths, not to silence all opposition.
The way the Chinese Government or Party through the United Front Department and the Overseas Chinese Bureau operates is effectively to control and silence dissent.

.  .  .

PROF. RORY MEDCALF: There's an awareness of a problem, but the agencies themselves don't have the mandate or the wherewithal to manage the problem.
All they can do is sound the alarm and alert the political class.
The political class needs to take a set of decisions in the interest of Australian sovereignty, in the interest of Australia's independence policy making, to restrict and limit foreign influence in Australian decision making.
CHRIS UHLMANN: After being briefed on the Four Corners-Fairfax investigation, the Attorney General sent us a statement revealing the Prime Minister has asked him to conduct a major inquiry into Australia's espionage and foreign interference laws.
Senator Brandis said, "the threat of political interference by foreign intelligence services is a problem of the highest order and it is getting worse."

My Opinion Piece in the Globe and Mail this Morning: "Free-trade talks with China: Proceed with caution"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/free-trade-talks-with-china-proceed-with-caution/article35192536/

Canada must not be placed in a position whereby proactively speaking out for and defending human rights in China comes at an economic cost to Canada imposed by China, once our economies are integrated through a binding free-trade treaty. Other countries with high economic dependence on China now tread very softly on concerns about Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, cyberespionage, arbitrary arrests of lawyers and political dissidents and the growing practice of Chinese security forces and policy to operate ever more boldly in foreign jurisdictions, including Canada.

It is also critical that Ottawa demonstrate it will scrutinize all Chinese state investment in Canada, to ensure that our economic integration with China is strictly based on trade and investment reciprocity.

Globe and Mail - China’s Premier urges Trudeau to relax controls on high-tech exports

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chinas-premier-urges-trudeau-to-relax-controls-on-high-tech-exports/article34746356/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com

"Former Canadian diplomat Charles Burton, who served in Beijing, said Mr. Li appears to be pressing China's advantage now that the Trudeau government has allowed O-Net to take over ITF Technologies, a Montreal-based firm involved in sophisticated laser technology with military applications.

"The reversal of the decision on the O-Net acquisition was really unprecedented in Canada," Mr. Burton said. "Certainly, the fact the Chinese Premier is now flagging high-tech suggests the Chinese government is hoping that Canada will be transferring more high-technology that they may not be able to acquire from other countries and maybe indicating that this will be an important condition of the upcoming free-trade negotiations. … They are seeing this as something they are expecting from Canada now that we have done it with the laser technology."

Mr. Burton said the Prime Minister must be cautious in the trade negotiations that it is not bullied by Beijing to give up key technology, especially when Canada's Five-Eyes intelligence-sharing partners have restrictions on such transfer, including U.S. firms operating in this country.

"The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand would all be concerned if they felt classified technology was being passed on to China through Canada. I think that would really cause them to question our commitment to the alliance," he said."

My Opinion piece: "China is paralyzed on looming North Korea threat. Will Trump show restraint? - The Globe and Mail"

China is paralyzed on looming North Korea threat. Will Trump show restraint? - The Globe and Mail



"The post-Kim fallout of a German-like reunification of Korea would be profoundly politically destabilizing for China. The opening of the secret police files and the seeking of redress by the politically wronged, followed by the inevitable public trials for corruption and political venality of China’s “lips and teeth” North Korean political and military elite would trigger huge interest among citizens of China. Parallels to the Chinese system would be too closely drawn for the Chinese Communist Party leadership to explain away, and the threat this poses to mainland Chinese political stability could well be the beginning of the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s single-party authoritarian rule. Moreover, the files would likely show PRC regime complicity in a lot of matters relating to the DPRK that would severely debase China’s international prestige."

Canadians wary of deeper economic ties with China: poll - The Globe and Mail

Canadians wary of deeper economic ties with China: poll - The Globe and Mail

Former Canadian diplomat and China expert Charles Burton said the poll makes it clear “most Canadians do not agree” with Mr. McCallum or Mr. Lu when they say human rights should not form part of trade talks.

Mr. Burton said it also suggests Canadians do not want Chinese state-owned companies acquiring majority control of Canadian companies in sensitive sectors such as the oil sands or technology with military applications.

The former Canadian diplomat said Canada should be on guard for language the Chinese may wish to insert in a free-trade deal that could hinder Ottawa’s ability to speak out against human-rights abuses.

“I think the Chinese would attempt to do that … text that talks of mutual respect for the sovereignty of each nation and non-interference in domestic affairs – the kind of language the Chinese could use to press a government,” Mr. Burton said.

Canadian Ambassador Concerned About Canadians Impeding His "Agenda" in China

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canada-a-long-long-way-from-china-extradition-deal-mccallum/article34560846/

“My job is partly to persuade China to do things, but my job is also to persuade Canada to get its own act in order,” Mr. McCallum said. He expects to return to Canada every six to eight weeks. There are “things that people in Canada are doing which are impeding our agenda over here,” he said.

Australian former High Commissioner - "Trade with China: Proceed with caution"

"It’s too early to say what, if anything, the FTA will deliver, trade-wise. Australian exports to China are actually down.  .  . . Beggaring belief, a Chinese firm with military connections was allowed to take over the management of our northernmost port of Darwin.  .  .  . If Canada is to draw one conclusion from Australia’s experience, it’s for political leaders to take the Canadian people with them, openly, in advance."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/trade-with-china-proceed-with-caution/article34493609/

Government Consulting Canadians on a possible Canada-China free trade agreement

"The Government of Canada is asking the Canadian public and interested Canadian stakeholders to help define Canada’s interests in a possible FTA with China, and identify ways of maximizing the economic and social benefits of such an agreement. We want to hear from you and we commit to providing feedback on what we are hearing from you. The Government of Canada is committed to hearing from Canadians on this important subject and will ensure that Canadians continue to have the opportunity to provide their views as we engage with China, including through additional consultations in the event that Canada and China decide to move to formal FTA negotiations."

http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/consultations/china-chine/index.aspx?lang=eng

Comment from me: The key is how seriously the consultations will be taken by my Government. I really do wonder about this.

My Opinion Piece on Canada-China Free Trade Published in Globe and Mail today

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/with-beijing-its-never-just-about-free-trade/article34049806/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&post_id=10153521909684078_10155134270024078&service=mobile#_=_

China sees similar advantage in weaning Canada away from our economic and political alliance with the United States, but it also expects to get compromises that further its regime interests. Canada has already ceded ground on this, making recent concessions – with no promise whatsoever of reciprocal considerations –  to ease limits on Chinese state investment in Canada; seize and repatriate assets of certain Chinese nationals in Canada; and (inexplicably) reverse a national security review that prevented a Beijing-backed concern from buying Canadian advanced laser technology with military application for directed-energy weapons that China is desperate to develop.

My Opinion Piece on Trump-Canada-China

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2017/01/31/as-trump-roils-ottawa-shuffles-the-deck-to-play-a-new-china-card

Today, Xi Jinping’s regime is militarily aggressive and much more demanding of nations where China has established economic leverage through strategic trade and investment agreements.

More China in the Canadian economy appears to be Canada’s future as the U.S. lapses into protectionism. In trying to negotiate a free trade with China, a key issue for Canada will be, do we have to negotiate away our commitment to Canadian liberal and democratic values to get the deal?

Canadian citizen seized from Hong Kong

Chinese billionaire seized from Hong Kong



In a statement posted on the WeChat account of the Tomorrow Group, published on Tuesday and purportedly from Mr Xiao, said he was overseas for medical treatment and would return “soon”.



In the statement, which was subsequently deleted by censors, he denied he had been “abducted to the mainland”. He said he was a Canadian citizen and Hong Kong permanent resident who was protected by the Canadian consulate and Hong Kong law. He added that he “had never harmed the interests of the country” or “supported any opposition organisation”.



. . .



It is common for Chinese businesspeople and others detained by China’s powerful security apparatus to be pressed to release messages through social media, email or via their families insisting that all is fine.

United States Congress set to introduce Hong Kong human rights act ‘in coming days’

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2062798/will-hong-kongs-pro-democracy-camp-find-ally-trump?utm_content=bufferfbb85&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#

"The law would require the US president to identify persons responsible for the surveillance, abduction, detention or forced confessions of booksellers and journalists in Hong Kong or other actions suppressing basic freedoms, and to freeze their US-based assets and deny them entry into the country."

Tibet protesters detained in Swiss capital during Xi Jinping visit

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN14Z0U6

Jiang questioned Swiss leaders' control over their country and remarked that they risked "losing a good friend".
China and Switzerland forged a free trade agreement in 2014 and Swiss companies count China among their most important markets.